Company:Lyft

From HandWiki
Lyft, Inc.
TypePublic
IndustryVehicle for hire
FoundedJune 9, 2012; 13 years ago (2012-06-09) (as Zimride)
Founders
  • Logan Green
  • John Zimmer
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Area served
  • United States
  • Canada
Key people
RevenueIncrease US$5.79 billion (2024)
Negative increase US$−119 million (2024)
Increase US$22.8 million (2024)
Total assetsIncrease US$5.44 billion (2024)
Total equityIncrease US$767 million (2024)
Number of employees
2,934 (2024)
Subsidiaries
  • Lyft Urban Solutions
  • Motivate
  • Free Now
Websitelyft.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Lyft, Inc. is an American company offering ride-hailing services, motorized scooters, and bicycle-sharing systems in the United States and Canada, and, via its Free Now mobile app, Europe.[1] Lyft is the second-largest ridesharing company in the United States after Uber.[1] It has 25 million active riders and coordinates 9 million rides per day.[1]

History

Lyft's distinctive pink mustache was the first branding the company used until 2015 when it switched to a smaller, glowing magenta mustache that sits on a driver's dashboard.

Lyft was launched in the summer of 2012 by computer programmers Logan Green and John Zimmer as a service of Zimride, a long-distance intercity carpooling company focused on college transport that they founded in 2007 after Green shared rides from the University of California, Santa Barbara campus to visit his girlfriend in Los Angeles and was seeking an easier way to share rides.[2][3]

In May 2013, the company changed its name from Zimride to Lyft.[4] In July 2013, Lyft sold the original Zimride service to Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.[5]

Lyft's marketing strategy included large pink furry mustaches that drivers attached to the front of their cars and encouraging riders to sit in the front seat and fist bump with drivers upon meeting.[6] In November 2014, the company distanced itself from the fist bump.[7] In January 2015, Lyft introduced a small, glowing plastic dashboard mustache it called a "glowstache" as an alternative to the large fuzzy mustaches on the front of cars. The transition was to help overcome the resistance of some riders to arrive at destinations, such as business meetings, in a car with a giant mustache.[8]

In August 2014, the company introduced shared transport.[9]

In December 2017, Lyft expanded into Canada, with operations in the Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa metropolitan areas.[10]

In March 2018, Lyft partnered with Allscripts on a platform allowing healthcare providers to arrange rides for patients who lack transportation to appointments with plans to roll out the service to 2,500 hospitals, 180,000 physicians, and approximately 7 million patients.[11][12] Lyft acquired Motivate, a bicycle-sharing system and the operator of Capital Bikeshare and Citi Bike, in November 2018.[13][14] The company also announced plans to add 28,000 Citi Bikes and expand its service.[15]

In March 2019, Lyft became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $2.34 billion at a valuation of $24.3 billion.[16] The company set aside some shares to be given to long-time drivers.[17]

In March 2020, Lyft acquired Halo Cars which pays drivers to display digital advertisements on their vehicles.[18] In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Lyft laid off 982 employees and furloughed an additional 288 to reduce operating expenses.[19] The company continued to offer scooters for rent in San Francisco, while Miami government asked Lyft to halt operations.[20]

In August 2020, Lyft partnered with rental car company Sixt to provide users access rental cars, in exchange for a commission. Most of the rental cars are owned and operated by Sixt, with 85 locations in the U.S.[21][22]

In December 2020, Lyft announced plans to launch a multi-city U.S. robotaxi service with Motional.[23] Lyft sold its self-driving car division to Toyota for $550 million in April 2021.[24][25] The division had partnerships with General Motors,[26][27] NuTonomy,[28] Ford Motor Company,[29][30] GoMentum Station,[31] and Magna International.[32] It also owned Blue Vision Labs, a London-based augmented reality startup, acquired in 2018 for $72 million.[33]

In April 2022, Lyft announced an agreement to acquire PBSC Urban Solutions, a Canadian bike-share equipment and technology supplier.[34] In November 2022, the company announced layoffs of approximately 700 employees, or about 13% of its staff.[35]

In March 2023, David Risher was named CEO of the company.[36][37]

In April 2023, the company announced layoffs of 1,076 corporate workers, or 26% of its staff. This came after job cuts announced in July and November 2022.[38][39][40]

In September 2023, Lyft discontinued Lyft Rentals and stopped offering car rental services.[41]

For the second quarter of 2024, Lyft posted its first GAAP profit in the company’s history.[42]

In July 2025, Lyft acquired Free Now for €175 million, expanding in Europe.[43]

In September 2025, Lyft partnered with Waymo to launch Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service to Nashville in 2026.[44]

Criticism

Unwanted text messages

In November 2018, Lyft settled a class action suit filed in 2014 alleging that the company had sent large numbers of unwanted commercial text messages.[45] In addition to $4 million in payments to consumers, the plaintiffs sought $1 million in legal fees.[46]

Alleged weight discrimination

In early 2025, Detroit rapper Dajua Blanding, known as Dank Demoss, who claims to be "just under 500 pounds" filed a lawsuit against Lyft after a driver allegedly refused her ride, claiming she was "too big" to fit in the car. The incident, captured on video, led to public outrage and legal action, with Blanding asserting that weight-based discrimination is illegal under Michigan law. The lawsuit was settled out of court.[47]

See also

  • Ridesharing privacy

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Lyft, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 14, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1759509/000175950925000025/lyft-20241231.htm. 
  2. ↑ Farr, Christina (May 23, 2013). "Lyft team gets $60M more; now it must prove ride-sharing can go global". VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/2013/05/23/lyft-races-ahead-with-60m-in-funding-but-what-challenges-lie-ahead/. 
  3. ↑ Green, Tomio (May 23, 2013). "Lyft Raises $60 Million As Ride Sharing Competition Heats Up". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2013/05/23/lyft-raises-60-million-as-ride-sharing-competition-heats-up/. 
  4. ↑ Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (June 24, 2017). "How Lyft's Founders Listened to Their Gut (and Not Their Mentor)". Inc.. https://www.inc.com/magazine/201607/christine-lagorio/john-zimmer-logan-green-lyft-zimride.html. 
  5. ↑ Gannes, Liz (July 12, 2013). "Lyft Sells Zimride Carpool Service to Rental-Car Giant Enterprise". All Things Digital. http://allthingsd.com/20130712/lyft-sells-zimride-carpool-service-to-rental-car-giant-enterprise/. 
  6. ↑ Fiegerman, Seth (December 22, 2014). "Why Lyft is trimming its pink mustache". Mashable. https://mashable.com/2014/12/22/lyft-marketing/. 
  7. ↑ Lien, Tracey (November 28, 2014). "Lyft distances itself from fist bump during busiest week yet". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-lyft-fist-bump-20141128-story.html. 
  8. ↑ VanHemert, Kyle (January 20, 2015). "Lyft Is Finally Ditching the Furry Pink Mustache". Wired. https://www.wired.com/2015/01/lyft-finally-ditching-furry-pink-mustache/. Retrieved April 9, 2017. 
  9. ↑ Lawler, Ryan (August 6, 2014). "With Lyft Line, Passengers Can Split Fares For Shared Rides". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/06/lyft-line/. 
  10. ↑ Etherington, Darrell (November 13, 2017). "Lyft's first market outside the U.S. will be Canada with a December launch in Toronto". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/13/lyfts-first-market-outside-the-u-s-will-be-canada-with-a-december-launch-in-toronto/. 
  11. ↑ della Cava, Marco (March 5, 2018). "Lyft deal with Allscripts lets 180,000 doctors call rides for their patients". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/03/05/lyft-deal-allscripts-lets-180-000-doctors-call-rides-their-patients/389122002/. 
  12. ↑ LaVito, Angelica (March 5, 2018). "Lyft and Allscripts want to make it easier to get people to the doctor's office". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/04/lyft-and-allscripts-want-to-make-it-easier-to-get-people-to-the-doctors-office.html. 
  13. ↑ Ghose, Carrie (December 3, 2018). "Lyft completes acquisition of Portland's bike-share program operator". American City Business Journals. https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2018/12/03/lyft-completes-acquisition-of-portlands-bikeshare.html. 
  14. ↑ Stampler, Laura (November 29, 2018). "Lyft Inks Deal With N.Y.C. and Becomes Largest Bike-Share Service in U.S.". Fortune. http://fortune.com/2018/11/29/lyft-biggest-bike-share-service-citi/. 
  15. ↑ Berger, Paul (November 29, 2018). "Lyft to Add 28,000 Citi Bikes and Expand Service". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/lyft-to-add-28-000-citi-bikes-and-expand-service-1543508558. 
  16. ↑ "Lyft valued at $24.3 billion in first ride-hailing IPO" (in en). Reuters. March 29, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lyft-ipo-idUSKCN1R92P4. 
  17. ↑ "Lyft Announces Driver Bonuses and Directed Share Program Opportunity" (Press release). PR Newswire. March 1, 2019. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  18. ↑ Tullman, Anya (March 3, 2020). "Lyft buys Halo Cars, a startup founded by four Penn students in 2018". The Daily Pennsylvanian. https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/03/halo-cars-lyft-penn-wharton. 
  19. ↑ "Lyft, Inc. Form 8-K". April 29, 2020. https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1759509/000119312520125193/d848949d8k.htm. 
  20. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew J. (March 20, 2020). "Electric scooter-sharing grinds to a halt in response to the COVID-19 pandemic". https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188119/electric-scooter-coronavirus-bird-lime-spin-suspend-bikes. 
  21. ↑ Goldstein, Michael. "Lyft Gets Into The Rental Car Business With Partner SIXT". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2020/08/07/rent-a-car-straight-from-the-lyft-app-with-partner-sixt/. 
  22. ↑ Korosec, Kirsten. "Lyft expands its rental business with Sixt partnership". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/30/lyft-expands-its-rental-business-with-sixt-partnership/. 
  23. ↑ Lienert, Paul (December 16, 2020). "Lyft, Motional to launch multi-city U.S. robotaxi service in 2023" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/autos-selfdriving-lyft-idUSKBN28Q2H2. 
  24. ↑ Bellon, Tina; Yamamitsu, Eimi (April 26, 2021). "Toyota to buy Lyft unit in boost to self-driving plans". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/lyft-sells-self-driving-tech-unit-toyota-550-mln-moves-up-profit-timeline-2021-04-26/. 
  25. ↑ McFarland, Matt (March 5, 2018). "Lyft's quiet CEO Logan Green opens up on his wild ride". CNN. https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/05/technology/lyft-ceo-logan-green/index.html. 
  26. ↑ Trousdale, Steve (January 5, 2016). "GM invests $500 million in Lyft, sets out self-driving car partnership". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-lyft-investment/gm-invests-500-million-in-lyft-sets-out-self-driving-car-partnership-idUSKBN0UI1A820160105. 
  27. ↑ Kokalitcheva, Kia (May 5, 2016). "GM and Lyft Will Test Self-Driving Taxis Within the Next Year". Fortune. http://fortune.com/2016/05/05/lyft-gm-self-driving-pilot/. 
  28. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew J. (June 6, 2017). "Lyft teams up with NuTonomy to put 'thousands' of self-driving cars on the road". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/6/15742274/lyft-nutonomy-self-driving-car-partnership-boston-pilot. 
  29. ↑ Isaac, Mike (September 27, 2017). "Lyft Adds Ford to Its List of Self-Driving Car Partners". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/technology/lyft-ford-self-driving-cars.html. 
  30. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew J. (September 27, 2017). "Ford and Lyft will work together to deploy autonomous cars". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/27/16373574/ford-lyft-self-driving-car-partnership-gm. 
  31. ↑ Crum, Rex (March 8, 2018). "Lyft's self-driving technology finds momentum in Concord". The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/08/lyfts-self-driving-technology-finds-momentum-in-concord/. 
  32. ↑ Kerr, Dara (March 14, 2018). "Lyft is building self-driving tech that can go in any car". CNET. https://www.cnet.com/news/lyft-partners-with-magna-on-developing-and-manufacturing-self-driving-cars/. 
  33. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew J. (October 23, 2018). "Lyft unveils a new self-driving car and acquires an AR startup". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/23/18014200/lyft-self-driving-car-acquires-blue-vision-lab-ar. 
  34. ↑ Bellan, Rebecca (April 20, 2022). "Lyft doubles micromobility footprint with PBSC acquisition". https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/19/lyft-doubles-micromobility-footprint-with-pbsc-acquisition/. 
  35. ↑ Rana, Preetika; Glazer, Emily (November 3, 2022). "Lyft to Lay Off About 700 Employees in Second Round of Job Cuts". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/lyft-plans-to-lay-off-hundreds-of-staffers-11667490092?mod=hp_lead_pos3. 
  36. ↑ Glazer, Preetika Rana, Lauren Thomas and Emily (March 27, 2023). "Lyft Hires New CEO as Founders Step Back Amid Struggles With Competition" (in en-US). Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/lyft-hires-new-ceo-as-founders-step-back-amid-struggles-with-competition-493d1aa5. 
  37. ↑ Genovese, Daniella (2023-08-15). "Lyft CEO buys $1.15M of company stock: 'I am putting my money where my mouth is'" (in en-US). https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/lyft-ceo-buys-company-stock-putting-my-money-where-my-mouth-is. 
  38. ↑ Goswami, Rohan (April 27, 2023). "Lyft to cut 1,072 employees, or 26% of its workforce". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/27/lyft-layoffs-company-to-cut-1072-employees-or-26percent-of-its-workforce.html. 
  39. ↑ Korosec, Kirsten (2023-04-21). "Lyft to make 'significant' cuts across ride-hailing company" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/21/lyft-to-make-significant-cuts-across-ride-hailing-company/. 
  40. ↑ Rana, Preetika; Thomas, Lauren; Glazer, Emily (April 21, 2023). "Lyft to Cut at Least 1,200 Jobs in New Round of Layoffs to Reduce Costs". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/lyft-to-cut-at-least-1-200-jobs-in-new-round-of-layoffs-to-reduce-costs-da423e53. 
  41. ↑ Hicks, Jasmine (July 21, 2022). "Lyft Rentals shuts down as the ride-sharing company lays off about 60 people". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/21/23273092/lyft-rentals-layoffs-car-ride-sharing-transportation. 
  42. ↑ Bary, Emily (August 7, 2024). "Lyft swings to a profit on record rides, but its earnings outlook comes in light". MarketWatch. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lyft-swings-to-a-profit-on-record-rides-but-its-earnings-outlook-comes-in-light-295ed235. 
  43. ↑ Lung, Natalie (July 31, 2025). "Lyft Completes Freenow Acquisition, Isn’t Planning to Cut Staff". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-31/lyft-completes-freenow-acquisition-isn-t-planning-to-cut-staff. 
  44. ↑ "Lyft and Waymo Launch Partnership to Expand Autonomous Mobility to Nashville". Lyft, Inc.. September 17, 2025. https://investor.lyft.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2025/Lyft-and-Waymo-Launch-Partnership-to-Expand-Autonomous-Mobility-to-Nashville/default.aspx. 
  45. ↑ Pennington, Laura (November 9, 2018). "Lyft, Consumers Seek Approval of $4M Texting Class Action Settlement". https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/863072-lyft-consumers-seek-approval-4m-texting-class-action-settlement/. 
  46. ↑ Sinay, Reenat (February 14, 2019). "2 Firms In $4M Lyft TCPA Deal Seek Nearly $1M Attys' Fees". Law360. https://www.law360.com/articles/1129378/2-firms-in-4m-lyft-tcpa-deal-seek-nearly-1m-attys-fees. 
  47. ↑ Gordon, Lauren (September 19, 2025). "Lawyers for Michigan Rapper Dank Demoss Issue Update on Lyft Lawsuit". WKFR-FM. https://wkfr.com/dank-demoss-update-michigan/. 
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